What's in the water?; Trent team in hot pursuit of mercury in the ecosystem

ANDREA HOUSTON
Local News - Wednesday, August 22, 2007 @ 00:00

At high levels, exposure to mercury in the environment can be extremely dangerous to humans, potentially leading to brain damage or death, researchers at Trent University say.

For more than a decade now, scientists at the Trent Worsfold Water Quality Centre have doing research to identify mercury found in fish.

Using equipment such as mass spectrometers, the chemists, biologists, botanists, biologists, geologists and anthropologists work side by side to carry out investigations to solve challenging environmental problems.

Peter Dillon, director of the centre and professor of environmental and resource studies, said the scientists who work at the centre are trying to trace the source of natural and man-made mercury to discover where it's going in a water ecosystem.

 

"Mercury stays in lakes for years."

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Mercury exposure leads to neurological, kidney, cardiovascular and immune problems. Chronic exposure to mercury can cause damage to the brain, spinal cord, kidneys and liver, states Medline Plus online encyclopedia.

Along with impairing the ability to feel, see, move and taste, mercury can cause numbness and tunnel vision.

Long-term exposure can lead to progressively worse symptoms and ultimately personality changes, stupor, and in extreme cases, coma or death, Medline Plus states. Recent findings have described adverse cardiovascular and immune system effects at low levels, Medline Plus said.

"In Minamata Japan, thousands died from eating mercury contaminated fish," Dillon said. "That is one of the most famous cases in history."